Word Analogy

A word analogy question gives you two words with a clear relationship, then asks you to complete a second pair with the same relationship. Example: Pen : Write :: Knife : ? The relationship here is "tool : its function." A pen is used to write; a knife is used to cut, so the answer is Cut. Common relationship types include: tool-function, part-whole, animal-sound, animal-home, worker-tool, category-member, and cause-effect.

1. Read the first pair and name the relationship in a sentence: "A pen is a tool used for writing."
2. Restate it as a template: "[First word] is a [type] used for [action]."
3. Apply the template to the third word: "A knife is a tool used for ___."
4. Choose the answer that completes the sentence correctly.
5. Reject options that only sound related but use a different relationship type.

Example 1: Doctor : Hospital :: Teacher : ?

• Relationship: a person works at a place.
• Doctor works at a hospital; Teacher works at a School.
• Answer: School.

Example 2: Lion : Pride :: Fish : ?

• Relationship: animal : collective noun for that animal's group.
• A group of lions is a Pride; a group of fish is a Shoal.
• Answer: Shoal.
• Trap option: Water (where fish live — wrong relationship type).

• Picking an answer that is associated with the third word but uses a different relationship. "Knife : Kitchen" is a location relationship, not function — wrong if the original pair was tool-function.
• Reversing the relationship: "Write : Pen" is function-tool, not tool-function. Order matters.
• Choosing a word that sounds similar rather than one that fits the logical relationship.

1. Bird : Nest :: Bee : ?
2. Author : Book :: Sculptor : ?